"Diaz illuminates "El Madrigal". Reds on way to Paris"

Another from my recent heatwave "Garden Sessions" and a recounting of a little Colombian genius dancing through the puddles of Villarreal and into the final of the Champions League.

More to follow in this mini-series from a book I'm immensely proud of and which I self published at the end of May 2023. An extract from this chapter follows, together with a link for the book and other ways and means in which to support me to thumb the eye of the traditional publishers who refused to read my original manuscript!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6W6TYCL

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.paypal.me/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford

"I’ve been writing about Liverpool FC a lot in recent times.
My Editor indulges my wanton and flagrant misuse of our precious language, allowing me to trademark my “PlayStation Football” mantra, my love for Spanish ball playing midfielder Thiago Alcântara and talking frankly, I’m worth every penny of that enormous salary that will soon be flowing into my Cayman Islands bank account.

And so is Luis Díaz.

I have no idea as to how many digital digits flow into his salaried bank account but the kid was extra special (again) tonight, and the 25 year old Colombian only played 45 minutes, but in a singular, game changing performance that Reds will remember in the same bracket as Howard Gayle in Munich in 1981.

Differing performances in very different European Cup or Champions League Semi-Finals, but game defining ones and both which dragged their teams through an arduous game and into the glory of a final in the City of Light.

Until Díaz’s introduction at half-time, the “Yellow Submarines” of Villarreal had bullied, brilliantly and legitimately so, their Red dressed visitors from Liverpool and never allowed them to get started in the match at all. They were far more physical and quick to loose balls or receptive for the errant passes from a Liverpool team mis-firing spectacularly, and on the next to biggest stage of them all. Held together by their magnificent captain Raúl Albiol and Étienne Capoue at the very centre of their best pressing and attacking work, Villarreal could even afford the luxury of a limping, half fit Gerard Moreno up front as their overall team play hustled, pushed and probed errors from a Liverpool team badly out of step and in arguably their worst half of football all season long. Étienne Capoue had a hand in both goals, the firecracker that lit this occasion on just 3 minutes and via the boot of Boulaye Dia, as well as the cross glanced home from the head of ex Arsenal defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin.

Both goals were defensively horrendous from a Liverpool perspective, and personally down to errors and sloppiness from their otherwise otherworldly and dependable wing backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The mis-firing sloppiness was symptomatic of a half of football in which Liverpool simply didn’t compete, weren’t physical enough and they’d seen their 2–0 first leg aggregate lead dissolve into an overall score of 2–2.

It was now simply a 45 minute final in itself.

Enter Luis Díaz.

The young Colombian kid was everywhere, dancing through the light covering of rain as well as the heavier puddles in one corner of the El Madrigal pitch.

I demanded captain Jordan Henderson replace a dreadful Naby Keïta at half-time. Jürgen Klopp replaced an ineffective and out of sorts Diogo Jota with the energy and childlike enthusiasm of Luis Díaz. Where I wanted more physicality, Jürgen wanted more football and the kid wanted and demanded that football.

He tried a bicycle kick, he played Swan Lake football through the corner flag puddles, he demanded the ball.

Time and time again".

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